Lyrl's recent activity
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Comment on US Supreme Court strikes down Donald Trump's tariffs in ~society
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Comment on Voyager Technologies CEO says space data center cooling problem still needs to be solved in ~space
Lyrl Link ParentThe hard working engineers at SpaceX are far from idiots. The owner of the company they work for has always been a charismatic rich idiot, that actually smart people sucked up to so he would...The hard working engineers at SpaceX are far from idiots. The owner of the company they work for has always been a charismatic rich idiot, that actually smart people sucked up to so he would provide capital for their business ideas, and use his charisma to get more capital from other rich people. Now, he has surrounded himself with yes men for so long that he deeply believes the sycophancy.
Being a charismatic figurehead providing capital to actually smart people worked for a long time, but as Elon has gotten in deeper thinking he is the smart one, his businesses have deteriorated. Twitter and Tesla are stagnant, and SpaceX is now saddled with covering the losses at Twitter and the Elon part of the AI bubble spending. It is not hubristic to watch the pattern of behavior and conclude Elon, and other billionaires who believe they are smart only because they surround themselves with sycophants to tell them that, are idiots.
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Comment on Hair loss open discussion in ~talk
Lyrl Link ParentSide comment on shedding: 50-100 scalp hairs a day is normal. Hair follicles grow a hair for a while, then pause and take a break (hair might shed here), then start over with a new hair (old hair...Side comment on shedding: 50-100 scalp hairs a day is normal. Hair follicles grow a hair for a while, then pause and take a break (hair might shed here), then start over with a new hair (old hair gets pushed out here if it didn't come out during the rest period).
Eyebrow hairs have a growth cycle of about six weeks and a rest period of around three to four months. So over a year, every single one of our eyebrow hairs sheds at least twice.
Scalp hairs typically grow for two to six years before resting. Shed scalp hairs are a normal part of the hair follicle behavior, with most people losing between 50 and 100 each day, and not by themselves indicative of any problems.
The age thinning is sad and real (I have long hair, and most of my braid length is pencil thin now), but is a result of hair follicles not growing new hairs after their rest cycle, not related to the normal cyclical shedding itself.
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Comment on Any software engineers considering a career switch due to AI? in ~comp
Lyrl Link ParentFor publicly traded companies, how stock owners perceive the current performance trend directly affects stock price. High level managers are significantly compensated with stock, and have an...For publicly traded companies, how stock owners perceive the current performance trend directly affects stock price. High level managers are significantly compensated with stock, and have an interest in keeping stock price high.
"We overhired in the weird pandemic economy (projected growth that didn't happen) and now need to right size" calls into question manager judgements (like projecting growth that failed to materialize)
"Tarriffs ate our capital project budget, and regulatory uncertainty makes now seem like a bad time to commit on a long-term direction anyway, so we're laying off the capital project team" calls into question the future growth of the company
"AI magic will let us grow with fewer people" covers up other explanations and feeds the stock price as a spin. AI spending can be any level the company believes is valid for other reasons - part of the appeal of this shtick is that it works with even minimal AI purchases. It's a stock-price-support trick for any publicly traded company in the current investor environment.
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Comment on Cory Doctorow | AI companies will fail. We can salvage something from the wreckage. in ~tech
Lyrl Link ParentI have found them helpful for idea generation. Coming up with a group name, list ingredients I want to use and suggesting potential recipes, that kind of thing. They will generally list a good...I have found them helpful for idea generation. Coming up with a group name, list ingredients I want to use and suggesting potential recipes, that kind of thing. They will generally list a good number of options, and of you want them to go a different direction or just keep generating along the same lines you can just ask. Then pick the one(s) that you like the best, or get inspired by one to think of something you might have taken much longer to think of, or not thought of at all.
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Comment on Scott Adams dead: Dilbert creator was 68 in ~comics
Lyrl Link ParentYeah, they can see who completed it, but not the contents. That's outsourced to a third party to keep personal details away from managers. For data, only department-type groupings are visible....Yeah, they can see who completed it, but not the contents. That's outsourced to a third party to keep personal details away from managers. For data, only department-type groupings are visible. Multiple types of possible groupings, some as small as three people. But, you know, it would take a curious manager at least a couple of hours playing with different grouping slicers to figure out who was who.
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Comment on Judge to Texas: You can’t age-gate the entire internet without evidence in ~tech
Lyrl Link ParentI'm reading the article as the law requiring age verification for everyone the app store can tell is located in Texas. Apparently apps pre-installed on the phone are excluded, including web browsers.I'm reading the article as the law requiring age verification for everyone the app store can tell is located in Texas. Apparently apps pre-installed on the phone are excluded, including web browsers.
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Comment on I need to tell you why coffee makes you poop in ~food
Lyrl Link ParentI am far from regular. Multiple days without a bowel movement are common, as are days with three or more small ones. I am vegetarian and think I get decent fiber in meals, but I used to have...I am far from regular. Multiple days without a bowel movement are common, as are days with three or more small ones. I am vegetarian and think I get decent fiber in meals, but I used to have painful crampy loose stools kind of regularly (once a month-ish) until I started aggressively adding extra fiber to my diet: every weekday, a cup of oatmeal and a packet of Metamucil fiber cookies (cinnamon - the apple replaces some of the psyllium with oat, and the chocolate straight up has less fiber).
Coffee definitely helps reduce the irregularly, making a single morning bowel movement more likely. It's not a trigger by itself - only seems to work early morning, having a short walk helps, still need all the extra fiber - but it's a noticeable support.
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Comment on Donald Trump administration policies slashing staffing and funding for public lands are waking a sleeping political giant in Montana. Will either party notice? in ~society
Lyrl Link ParentIf the breachers are a small part of the population, say one in twenty, modeling and pressuring for acknowledgement of wrongdoing can work. In the case of the US public, half the voting population...If the breachers are a small part of the population, say one in twenty, modeling and pressuring for acknowledgement of wrongdoing can work.
In the case of the US public, half the voting population committed the breach. There just is not the leverage to get that proportion of the population to acknowledge wrongdoing. We have to find a different way forward.
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Comment on US President Donald Trump was going to roll out a health care plan. Then Republicans weighed in. in ~society
Lyrl Link ParentHe has very thoroughly surrounded himself with idealogues and drifters. He is swayed by the last person for a while, but people who actually care about effective governance get under his skin...He has very thoroughly surrounded himself with idealogues and drifters. He is swayed by the last person for a while, but people who actually care about effective governance get under his skin after a few rounds and he discards them.
I guess the trick would be to have a very large number of progressives to stage. So each one could go just one or two rounds and get the sway without running into his same-person-interaction limit.
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Comment on US President Donald Trump signs order to remove tariffs from Brazilian beef, coffee other food items in ~society
Lyrl Link ParentAgree, but that's not how I have seen the term greedflation used. I have most commonly seen it used to describe any price increase that increases profit margin, ignoring every other aspect of...The “greed” part comes in if the supply is being artificially limited by a cartel, for example, or if the price is being kept high by monopolistic practices.
Agree, but that's not how I have seen the term greedflation used. I have most commonly seen it used to describe any price increase that increases profit margin, ignoring every other aspect of market and regulatory forces. The common perception seems to be that if companies had smaller profit margins then poof all the other aspects of market failure would be solved.
I’d prefer to see “what the market will bear” used as a genuine mechanism to balance supply and demand where necessary, with careful guardrails... rather than used to mean “companies are better off buying up competitors, undermining scientists, corrupting democracy, and spreading misinformation to customers, because all of those have a better ROI than improving the product”.
Amen.
My employer used to be an innovation leader in our industry, and has a lot of residual support structures for new product development, but the staffing is a small fraction of what it used to be. It's sad to work with those almost-ghost departments that could be developing brand new cool stuff to introduce to the world, and instead we're mostly trying to squeeze every drop of revenue from commodity production. It's enabled owners to extract more profit in the short term, but robbed us of future competitiveness.
I hope our leaders don't get hung up on "solving" short term windfall profit situations so hard they neglect the long-term problem of corporate owners not caring about long-term company health, much less long-term company impact on society at large.
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Comment on US President Donald Trump signs order to remove tariffs from Brazilian beef, coffee other food items in ~society
Lyrl Link ParentI work in manufacturing, and during the post-Covid demand surge we had to no-quote way more customers than normal due to lack of capacity. Raising prices significantly reduced the number of quote...I work in manufacturing, and during the post-Covid demand surge we had to no-quote way more customers than normal due to lack of capacity. Raising prices significantly reduced the number of quote requests so the no-quote volume became more manageable. Yes, corporate got more profits, but it let customers self-select of who really needed our product enough to justify a slice of what we were physically able to produce.
Other rationing systems exist, but if demand truly outstrips supply usually letting price be the short-term ration method is reasonable. Long-term there is desperate need for better regulation to drive up-front investment for long-term societal benefit. But focusing on short term price "greedflation" actually takes energy away from understanding the underlying driving forces and implementing helpful long-term incentives.
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Comment on Some people can't see mental images. The consequences are profound. in ~health.mental
Lyrl Link ParentThe researcher estimated 2-3% of people are aphantic. If tildes had 2,000 active users, then just with the average human distribution that would mean 40-60 aphantic tilderinos. Doesn't require any...The researcher estimated 2-3% of people are aphantic. If tildes had 2,000 active users, then just with the average human distribution that would mean 40-60 aphantic tilderinos. Doesn't require any selection bias.
Interesting multiple people have commented on lack of hallucinations, both in sensory deprivation chambers and from drug stimulus. It might mean aphasics have an advantage in endurance athletic events, where sleep deprivation hallucinations are a common challenge for participants.
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Comment on Some people can't see mental images. The consequences are profound. in ~health.mental
Lyrl Link ParentWaking up in a sweat, especially if it's associated with palpitations and general over-excited feeling, can be an autonomic nervous system weirdness thing. At least, I attribute my experiences...Waking up in a sweat, especially if it's associated with palpitations and general over-excited feeling, can be an autonomic nervous system weirdness thing. At least, I attribute my experiences like that to my dysautonomia. They are never associated with dreams for me, and I am a person who commonly remembers dreams.
If you wanted to try to remember a dream, and live with someone, you could ask them to wake you up while you are dreaming. The eye movement in REM sleep is really obvious. REM is most common towards the end of your normal sleep period, so like half an hour to an hour before you normally wake up would be a good time for your helper to come check if your eyeballs are moving around rapidly, and wake you up if they are.
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Comment on California Forever clears first hurdle in Suisun City annexation in ~society
Lyrl Link ParentHousing doesn't become desirable in a vacuum. Housing becomes desirable when people who live in it can get to jobs from it, food is accessible from it, etc. There are many cheap empty houses in...Housing doesn't become desirable in a vacuum. Housing becomes desirable when people who live in it can get to jobs from it, food is accessible from it, etc. There are many cheap empty houses in rural areas without nearby jobs. In urban areas with plentiful jobs and services, there are fewer houses than people who want to live there.
I don't see how building houses on currently rural land (to make it into a far suburb) addresses the problem of more people wanting to live inside the city (or at least a close suburb) than city housing unit density supports.
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Comment on Communist and far-right candidates head to Chile presidential run-off in ~society
Lyrl LinkDigging a trench to stop Peruvian immigrants sounds like a dystopian platform. But it sounds like polls show it likely to be the winning one.Digging a trench to stop Peruvian immigrants sounds like a dystopian platform. But it sounds like polls show it likely to be the winning one.
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Comment on Who’s making these AI copies of my work? in ~tech
Lyrl Link ParentWas that how the dot com bubble shook out? People who hadn't invested in internet-related activity or broadband infrastructure learned a lesson in what was better for society, and now the...Was that how the dot com bubble shook out? People who hadn't invested in internet-related activity or broadband infrastructure learned a lesson in what was better for society, and now the organizations in control of internet infrastructure and consumer access systems are more caring?
I don't remember the dot com bubble aftermath that way, and I can't see the AI bubble aftermath being any more positive. I expect the average person to both get more access to novel useful tools and services, and also be more vulnerable to novel predatory behavior both directly from the corporations that "serve" us and also from scammers taking advantage of lack of corporate and regulatory oversight.
I just profoundly hope the bubble slowly deflates instead of popping and taking our entire economy down with it. It's an order of magnitude larger than the dot com bubble, and all that money doing it's "velocity of money" thing throughout the economy is intertwined into everything now. If it's a pop, we are going to see a contender for "worst ever US recession".
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Comment on US President Donald Trump and EU impose new sanctions on Russia: ‘Now is the time to stop the killing’ in ~society
Lyrl Link ParentIt's not like Ukraine can trust Russia if they declare the attacks are over. Russia has broken so many promises, the most reasonable interpretation of a "peace" at the current lines is that Russia...It's not like Ukraine can trust Russia if they declare the attacks are over. Russia has broken so many promises, the most reasonable interpretation of a "peace" at the current lines is that Russia needs a few years to build up an army to blitz the rest of Ukraine.
Given the lack of trust, so that making a peace agreement is just agreeing to be at war in a couple of years, when allies have moved on so it will be even worse than the current horror, any possibility of gaining back their lost territory might seem like a reasonable goal to continue fighting for.
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Comment on US President Donald Trump and EU impose new sanctions on Russia: ‘Now is the time to stop the killing’ in ~society
Lyrl LinkSounds like he's still wanting the peace agreement to be that the behind-line attacks stop on both sides, but Ukraine does not get back any territory currently held by Russian troops....said Trump. “We would like to see them [Russia] just take the line that has been formed over a long period of time and go home.”
Trump did not clarify if this was in reference to a border proposal within Ukraine or a figurative line in terms of a cease-fire agreement.
Sounds like he's still wanting the peace agreement to be that the behind-line attacks stop on both sides, but Ukraine does not get back any territory currently held by Russian troops.
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Comment on The video-game industry has a problem: there are too many games in ~games
Lyrl Link ParentThe YouTube algorithm is doing automated A/B testing, and adjusts following promotion up or down based on response of the test audience (click rate and watch time). A curated list for a longer...The YouTube algorithm is doing automated A/B testing, and adjusts following promotion up or down based on response of the test audience (click rate and watch time). A curated list for a longer form content like a game doesn't get that kind of quick guiding feedback.
It would be neat if something could be worked out that would do similar semi-random promotion that work with a slower feedback loop as people played and reviewed the game.
Many of our deep drives are keyed towards staying in good graces with our in-group, because our far ancestors survived and reproduced more successfully by being in good group standing, even if the group had objectively wrong positions, than by pursuing objective truth as individuals. Evolution selected against being able to apply our intelligence to things related to in-group identity.
I see so much talk of people holding illogical positions as being stupid, or due to a lack of education, and to me neither of those things seem to align with the divisions in our country. I believe if we don't address the real challenge of these in-group brain circuits that bypass our intelligence (or harness that intelligence for post-rationalization) and are immune to standard education, we aren't going to make any headway.